'Situating the comedy' and laughing out loud

I've become obsessed with 'Rising Damp' which a friend of mine has got off the internet in a collection of the whole four series. The writing of Eric Chappell is so quick and witty, full of rich descriptions coming out of the most unlikely mouth, that of Rigsby. His character is so full of prejudice and critical comment, but contradicts this with his own compassionate attempts at understanding the strange residents he lives with respectively as father-figure (Beckinsale), jealous rival (Warrington), and prospective lover (Frances de la Tour's Miss Jones). Leonard Rossiter, however, regardles of the genius of the writer, is the overarching genius of the show. He is one of the true comic geniuses that deserve the name so often bandied about. Coming from playing the show on stage, the tv show has that immediate quality which is now the sole possession of theatre. It was produced at a time whenever it was still as imposrtant to make an audience laugh, as it was to please a tv scheduler, and the result being an attention to comic timing in Rossiter that is hard to do justice to. Sometimes his respones to the lines of others are as funny as the ones he is about to deliver, and the glorious moment in the fourth series where he takes the Bible in his hands and reading from the Song of Songs he strides up onto Miss Jones' sofa in appreciation and pursuit of her beautiful 'knockers', while she demurs in terror is one where laughing out loud is the only option, regardless of company. This is rarely the case with some 'clever' comedy. And yet, Chappell's scripts are often sparkling in their intelligence, their social comment and even their poetry! But in the comic relief poll of all time best comedies, look at what's above it.

The top 30 list of funniest shows of all time:

1 The Office. 2 Fawlty Towers. 3 Only Fools And Horses. 4 The Simpsons. 5 Friends. 6 Little Britain. 7 Blackadder. 8 Father Ted. 9 Monty Python's Flying Circus. 10 Porridge. 11 Rising Damp. 12 Have I Got News For You. 13 Seinfeld. 14 Day's Army. 15 The Two Ronnies. 16 Cheers. 17 Open All Hours. 18 The Young Ones. 19 One Foot In The Grave. 20 Benny Hill. 21 The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin. 22 Red Dwarf. 23 Taxi. 24 Frasier25 Malcom In The Middle. 26 M*A*S*H. 27 Mork And Mindy. 28 Are You Being Served. 29 Some Mothers So 'Ave 'Em. 30 South Park.

But in thirty years time what will the list look like? My guess is that Rising Damp will still be there, but will all the others? Anybody out there? Please disagree ...